Scaffolding facing calls to go at Talland Parade in Seaford

The structure has been attracting complaints for five years, especially due to the lack of building work at the site at Talland Parade in Seaford High Street.

The site is owned by Vision Properties Ltd, who hired Able1 Scaffolding to erect the structure. Both companies are from North London.

Able1 Scaffolding said it has complied with “all council regulations” and said the scaffolding has to remain until the roof is done.

Back in January 2012, planning permission to build ten self-contained flats on the site was granted by Lewes District Council.

But the current scaffolding overlooking the high street in Seaford has been there for over five years and prompted many locals to demand the council take legal action.

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The authority has considered taking action before with an S.215 untidy land notice, but councillors said they received assurances that development had started.

Maria Caulfield, Conservative MP for Lewes, met government officials in February after facing calls to lobby the government to give the council the necessary powers to tackle the scaffolding.

But Mrs Caulfield said Lewes District Council has all the “powers they need” to get rid of the five year-old scaffolding and she thinks the council has “no interest in Seaford”.

While Carolyn Lambert, Liberal Democrat councillor for Seaford South, said Conservative government planning legislation has left local authorities vulnerable.

The scaffolding in the High Street, Seaford

The council has told The Argus it is working “tirelessly” to resolve the issue and it has “proved very challenging” but assured people they are making efforts to have the scaffolding removed.

Neil Smith, 58, who lives in Seaford, said the scaffolding was harmful for the town’s tourism and it is a "lesson learnt" to try and "prevent it happening in other places" as well as Seaford again.

He said: “It doesn’t look great. A town like Seaford does have a local economy and relies on soft tourism. Let’s face it, no one wants to see a town with a load of scaffolding there. So many local people have to see this blot on the landscape.

“You remove that historic aspect of the High Street and Broad Street, all the old pubs and buildings in the town. It’s marred from that point of view, it’s bad for the town all over.

The scaffolding can be seen from far and wide as you approach Seaford town centre

“The impact on the businesses underneath it must be stressful for the people running them. They don’t know if it’s going or whether it will be taken down tomorrow."

James Kearns, 41, director of Able1 Scaffolding, said: “Everything we are doing, we are complying with everything even though everybody keeps tampering and cutting wires, sending in pictures that are months and months outdated with someone trying to get through in a wheelchair once we have already changed the scaffolding.

“I know the scaffolding has been up a long time but the building has no roof on it, there is still people working in those buildings. It has to remain until the building is finished."

The scaffolding towers above two story buildings in the area

Mrs Caulfield said her meeting with government officials in February established that the council has the "powers" needed to resolve the situation.

She said: “I met with government officials earlier in the year who confirmed that the district council has the powers they need and should be using a compulsory purchase order to get the scaffolding dealt with.

“When the Conservatives were running the council they served an enforcement notice on the site but the Lib Dems and Greens have no interest in Seaford.”

Cllr Lambert said: “Maria Caulfield has repeatedly asserted that Lewes District Council has powers to take action on Talland Parade. She has repeatedly been asked to specify what these are and has never answered the question.

"The Conservatives had control of Lewes District Council until 2019 when the Co-operative Alliance took over. If the Conservatives had the power to do something about Talland Parade, then why did they not take action?

"It has been left to the Alliance to sort out this appalling planning blight which has arisen because of the Conservative government’s planning legislation which leaves local authorities across the country vulnerable."

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Lewes District Council said the matter was ongoing and it was making "all efforts" to remove the scaffolding.

A spokesman said: “We continue to work tirelessly to resolve this issue.

“It has proved very challenging, but all efforts continue to be made to bring it to a conclusion.

“We will update residents immediately when more information is available.”

David Rabson, 58, director of Vision Properties Ltd as well as 37 other companies, was approached for comment.

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